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Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle
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warrenmzz
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 11:56 am    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Hi

Do you think directing oil at the MS bearing would have saved your trans ? You do a lot of mountain driving. I wonder if the bearing was starved of lubricant on the long inclines.

Thanks for sharing.
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Sodo
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 12:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Whats the micrometer diameter of the shaft where that cracked mainbearing sits? Is it consistent diameter across the bearing contact area? Was it a re-manufactured shaft?
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gears
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 12:30 pm    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Waldi says the cracked ball bearing race occurs only during installation. He's probably right ..
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Syncro Jael
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 3:08 pm    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Pcforno wrote:
Was the rebuild done by the Washington based rebuilder who shall not be named that did Sodo's? Was there evidence of amateur aftermarket grinding on the MS bearing?


There was no evidence of grinding on the MS bearing. Same builder as Sodo, but it could have been a defective bearing? IDK. But I do have a different rebuilder now.

warrenmzz wrote:
Hi

Do you think directing oil at the MS bearing would have saved your trans ? You do a lot of mountain driving. I wonder if the bearing was starved of lubricant on the long inclines.

Thanks for sharing.


From what I was told, when it was assembled the clearance was not correct. This was the major reason for the failure. I do have the oil from the cooler directed at the MS bearing and 4th gear now. Fingers crossed.

Sodo wrote:
Whats the micrometer diameter of the shaft where that cracked mainbearing sits? Is it consistent diameter across the bearing contact area? Was it a re-manufactured shaft?


Sodo, I am not sure what the measurements are, it has been rebuilt and closed up. It was "supposed" to be a new OEM main shaft, back when you could still find one. From what Mr.Gas says, it still looks useable and was.

gears wrote:
Waldi says the cracked ball bearing race occurs only during installation. He's probably right ..


Gears, it was interesting to note that the gearbox was quiet for a few thousand miles. Then I noticed the sound. So I am not sure if it cracked on installation, or from the heat generated from the failed clearance issue. The new bearing that is now installed looks to be manufactured in Slovakia. Shocked

Again, here is the sound it made on a very cold winter morning. It was loudest when cold and would almost disappear once the transaxle would reach operating temperatures. You can also hear the cold belts squealing on the alternator/power steering pump. Clutch depressed (no noise) clutch released (bearing noise).



Link


And the bearing noise in hand.


Link


I was told to fill this transaxle with gear oil, spin everything around to get the oil moved around, and hopefully I do not have to install this one for many years. Fingers Crossed! It will get boxed up and added to the $yncro part$ $tash. Wink Oh and don't mind that old output housing, I just use it for my stored transaxle, a decoupler will replace it.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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Sodo
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 4:48 pm    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Syncro Jael wrote:
There was no evidence of grinding on the MS bearing. Same builder as Sodo, but it could have been a defective bearing? IDK. But I do have a different rebuilder now.


It's not the mainshaft bearing that a cheesy-builder belt-sands - it's the "pinion bearing". The pinion bearing is a tapered pair of bearings similar to 2WD front wheel bearings. Similar to what's inside a (2WD) front wheel hub. If the "tapered wheel bearing" loosens a little over the miles, it's a common practice to 'tighten' the adjuster nut a little and your wheel bearing's tight like new again.

The pinion bearing has no adjustment - is a precision assembly thats pre-ground, factory calibrated to be tightened directly together with 360 ft lbs on the pinion nut. It's not adjustable, it's precision-manufactured, pre-loaded just right, to wear-in then run tight for the life of the van. You can't get to this bearing and adjust it like a wheel bearing. And similarly, you can't grind it by hand. If yu measure the flatness of bearings, they are flat within 10,000ths of an inch.

That's why the pinion bearing costs $130 (& wheel bearing $15). So the builder saved himself $130 on my transaxle by "tightening up" a used bearing and tossing it in my trans. He ground it down it a little on a belt-sander, not flat. It was all catty-wompus, sloppy as h*ll, doomed from the first mile. And by 9,000 miles it was way, way dead, and ruined a bunch of other stuff too in my valuable Syncro transaxle.

OK back to the Mainshaft bearing. Cracking the OUTSIDE RACE of the mainshaft bearing is much more popular I think. Tom Lengyel thinks big, low-RPM torque cracks the outside race of the mainshaft bearing. Lugging a big engine for example.

Your cracked INNER race is strange, it's well-supported by the mainshaft. I agree it seems the only way to break it is with a hydraulic press. The outside is only supported by a flimsy magnesium housing. I can't really believe an inner race would crack, other than during assembly, being pressed onto a mainshaft that's too big. But MrGas would have noticed it (the new bearing) requiring too much press-fit if your shaft was one of those rebuilts (and rebuilt 'wrong'; oversized). There is the chance that the broken MS bearing was defective from the factory. You might cut it open and post a pic of the crack surfaces. (?)
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Last edited by Sodo on Sun Feb 05, 2017 8:44 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 05, 2017 7:24 am    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Ron, glad you and the transaxle made home safe! Nice glossy paint job! Fill it up and run the oil around. Then put it away for a very long time! Wink
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 05, 2017 7:40 am    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

MR GAS wrote:
Ron, glad you and the transaxle made home safe! Nice glossy paint job! Fill it up and run the oil around. Then put it away for a very long time! Wink


It is full of Swepco 201. I rotated the output shaft and ran it through all the gears a couple times. Layed it flat on the ground and it is now standing on end. I will get it boxed up and on the shelf along with another front diff, decoupler, propshaft, and all the axles, bearings, and seals for a complete drivetrain replacement.

I have kind of learned over the years to keep parts on hand so time waiting for replacements does not interfere with my travels.

Thank you again Greg for your expertise, attention to detail, and quick service.

Ron
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 05, 2017 9:54 am    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Hans J wrote "My brand new SA trans (gone through when new by AA with a 4.86, taller 3/4 gears, and all the bells and whistles) has pretty much made noise from the beginning.


I don't have a Syncro but have been following this to see about rebuilds. After Sodo's experience, is it possible your new trans did not come back with all it's shiny new parts?

This thread is one reason I have decided to mate an appropriate trans to a Subaru engine and will be putting in a Subaru 5mt. If I had $10k+, I would have considered Mr Flint's conversion.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 10:46 am    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Regarding the problem at the interface of the mainshaft bearing and 4th idler gear, many of us have a vague idea about friction welding when one part rotates at a different speed than the piece against which it rubs. Here's link to a video that shows this friction and heating being used to weld parts together by using rotational friction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JbnDXw-0pM


What happens at the interface between 4th gear and the mainshaft bearing in a heavily-loaded 091 or 094 transaxle, I suspect, is that although the MS bearing inner race and the flank of 4th gear rotate at the same speed, the 4th gear "wobbles" around the mainshaft because there is some needle bearing clearance and that clearance allows the 4th gear to rotate about a different centre than the inner race of the MS bearing that does not have that clearance. So, these two neighbours do not rotate around the same centre and the result is kind of like the action of an orbital sander. In addition, 4th gear also tilts slightly due to the forces caused by the helical-cut gear teeth, as Gears pointed out in an earlier post.

Anyway, the video in the link below shows how one aerospace manufacturer is using forces and motions like those occurring at the MS bearing/4th gear interface to make actual intended welds on very expensive equipment in turbines. Note that there is no rotational element in the two parts being friction welded - - they do not rotate relative to each other, but end up being welded anyway:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG3t0Q7UuCU

I suspect that the swarf from this action causes premature bearing failures throughout the transaxles unless the gear oil is filtered.

So, what are the possible solutions to this?
1. As Gears suggested, a tighter packing of the needle bearings in 4th gear;

2. A plain bearing with a tight oil clearance. This would require pressure lubrication.

3. Also as Gears suggested, a thrust washer that would spread the axial forces over a larger friction surface. As I understand it, this hopefully would reduce the localized heat generated to a point short of friction welding.

4. As Gears suggested, straight-cut (ie: non-helical cut) 4th gear set;

5. In addition to any or all of the above, pressure lubrication to the mainshaft where the 4th gear needle bearings live. This would have a cooling benefit, a lubrication benefit, hopefully reducing metal-to-metal contact, and if the pressure lubrication film were thick enough, it might even eliminate enough of the clearance to cause the 4th gear to run concentric to the mainshaft, thus eliminating the orbital motion. I would suspect that this last hope is not realistic, but even reducing the size of the orbital motion would help.
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gears
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 2:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Wow .. great post. Yes, the wobbling 4th gear. You researched that one perfectly. Bigger horsepower seems to make it a bigger problem for us.

Anyhow, we'll try the HD washer for sure. It would be great if it helped.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 2:53 pm    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

gears wrote:
Yes, the wobbling 4th gear. You researched that one perfectly. Bigger horsepower seems to make it a bigger problem for us. Anyhow, we'll try the HD washer for sure. It would be great if it helped.


And the coarse off-road gearteeth seems like they would "buzz harder" than the fine OEM gear teeth.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 3:37 pm    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Helix angle, bore clearance, & horsepower are primarily to blame.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2017 10:01 pm    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Howesight wrote:
What happens at the interface between 4th gear and the mainshaft bearing in a heavily-loaded 091 or 094 transaxle, I suspect, is that although the MS bearing inner race and the flank of 4th gear rotate at the same speed, the 4th gear "wobbles" around the mainshaft because there is some needle bearing clearance and that clearance allows the 4th gear to rotate about a different centre than the inner race of the MS bearing that does not have that clearance. So, these two neighbours do not rotate around the same centre and the result is kind of like the action of an orbital sander. In addition, 4th gear also tilts slightly due to the forces caused by the helical-cut gear teeth, as Gears pointed out in an earlier post.


My pet theory is this ^^^ producing a violent vibrational contact due to a "resonance" event that occurs when some specific combination of RPM / gear ratio / number of gearteeth / number of cylinders / needle bearing slop /endplay comes together. In other words, there is some "speed" in 4th gear, where a resonant condition is buzzing 4th gear against the inner bearing race. That's my pet theory.

I cannot imagine any "normal" contact causes that erosion. It has to be a resonance condition where forces are sky-high. This would be rough on the bearing balls as well. It could hammer the outer race out of it's bore too, against its hold-down.. I'd think this would be audible.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 11:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

I'm curious why the feedback forum for certain rebuilders doesn't reflect these experiences being had?

I recently entered into a deal which involved this business with the mindset, "They are the best" and unfortunately, it did not end well.

I searched the feedback and the forums and couldn't find this info although I once my $$$$ were spent, I began hearing of these troubles... and even still these threads were hard to find. The feedback is there for a reason and it certainly would have saved me a lot of money.

I understand that this thread doesn't revolve around the rebuilders reputation and SJ, I appreciate your positivity and outlook on the matter, but this info needs to be easier found.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 4:39 am    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

VeeDubDaySpa wrote:
I'm curious why the feedback forum for certain rebuilders doesn't reflect these experiences being had?

I recently entered into a deal which involved this business with the mindset, "They are the best" and unfortunately, it did not end well.

I searched the feedback and the forums and couldn't find this info although I once my $$$$ were spent, I began hearing of these troubles... and even still these threads were hard to find. The feedback is there for a reason and it certainly would have saved me a lot of money.

I understand that this thread doesn't revolve around the rebuilders reputation and SJ, I appreciate your positivity and outlook on the matter, but this info needs to be easier found.



Did you leave feedback of your experience?
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 6:30 am    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

VeeDubDaySpa wrote:
I'm curious why the feedback forum for certain rebuilders doesn't reflect these experiences being had?

I recently entered into a deal which involved this business with the mindset, "They are the best" and unfortunately, it did not end well...


Unfortunately, some degree of "politics" exist at many of the biggest shops. It's to the advantage of both supplier AND these shops that your transaxle (and its custom components) only last 30K. So, both the quality of workmanship and parts often reflect this 30K goal.

The solution may be NOT to rely on Big Name shops, but rather SISTR shops (like Tom Lengyel's Syncroshop). The reward for attention to detail & quality is greatly increased longevity.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 8:57 am    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

gears wrote:
The solution may be NOT to rely on Big Name shops, but rather SISTR shops (like Tom Lengyel's Syncroshop). The reward for attention to detail & quality is greatly increased longevity.


I question mentioning Syncroshop like a "business". You can't waltz in there, drop a tranny on the floor, ask what the warranty is and then come back and pick it up. Syncroshop is more like "access to a craftsman" you have to come to an agreement on all issues before he will accept the job.

There are more trannies in need that can be possibly be serviced by specialty shops. Syncroshop does only a few trannies per year, and he won't even accept your tranny job unless you agree that no questionable part goes back into your trans, where it's his assessment of suitability not yours. We need more shops like Syncroshop, but such craft is a dying art. At Syncroshop, if "the customer is always right" the customer can pick up boxes of parts and "be right" somewhere else. In other words you have to trust his judgement 100% from the first bolt out to the last bolt in. Which you can; he has a sixth-sense about Syncro transaxles.

And it's absolutely NOT for selling you parts that you don't need, its per your agreement. If you see his beat-up old Syncro (500,000 miles) its obviously not for the money, its for the longevity, the craft. If the "absolute longest running trans possible" isn't your top goal, Syncroshop doesn't want the job. He will tell you that, straight up, several times if he doesn't think you heard him correctly. If you don't appreciate the quality of work you are getting he doesn't want to work for you. This is totally understandable, because how can you possibly know this when you've never even heard of Syncroshop? And he understands that too, but there are many folks who do know that, waiting in line for his time.

But there's no way the specialty shops can inspect every tranny to such a high level of detail and satisfy the demand. Well-built OLD trannies are racking up the miles; and there's a lot of poorly rebuilt trannies out there too.

Tranny builders are in a bind because everyone is putting in big engines that can destroy the best-built transaxle. The guy who wants to drive his 200HP van like a modern vehicle (either lugging it, or 5,000+RPM or both) selects the best builder, and the guy with the 82HP WBX selects the wham-bam-thankyou-ma'am builder, and they last about the same miles = not many. And they want a warranty. The situation is so bad that the good builders can't offer it due to the big engines, and the poor builders get by because nobody else can offer a genuine warranty either. And it costs $800 to R&R a trans, several hundred more $$ to ship it, so there's a big barrier to exercising a warranty, and another barrier to flushing your shop and choosing a different rebuilder.

Furthermore, how can you know from a forum discussion if the problem was a crap rebuild, a big engine, high RPM usage, lugging damage, an honest failure, gear oil run long after its contaminated, or a people problem? How many forum members disassemble their own trannies and report? And learn the issues, post pics? Very few. This information is very difficult to get.

This is definitely a problem for the Vanagon community and I really feel for you folks who have to spend boatloads of cash on poor rebuilds, and can't find the information you need about where to go. I went through it too. This is because very few Vanagon owners have sampled all the transmission shops, and they shouldn't. You're not supposed to rebuild every 10-20,000 miles it should be every 10-20 years. Kids are born and turn into adults in that timeframe. Old craftsmen pass away in that timeframe.

A vanagon nut, over the years, has an 82HP WBX, the next time 200 HP spinning 5,000 RPM (6,000, 7000?) then next time a big diesel lugging at 2,200 RPM. All the while, the re-usable components are just getting older, and older. Just the engine torques and RPM variations muddy the discussion to the point where you can't really compare anything anyway. And then there's the issue of crap rebuilds.

Its a very complicated discussion with one underlying issue = a transaxle designed 50 years ago for appx 60 HP, that was "stretched" to 90HP, and now being asked to transmit 150HP. Or 200. Or more. If you have a big engine you CANNOT consider a budget rebuild. Be ready to buy shafts, gears, R&P, cases etc.

My best tip is to inspect your oil often, and run the cleanest oil that you can. If you have to run specialty oil - only go down that path if you can afford to keep it clean. You will get less miles if your lubricating fluid has become a grinding paste (if dumping $90 of oil is difficult). But what's clean? It's the same for underwear, depends who's looking but we all know that changed more often than necessary is more likely clean. I think putting a magnetic drain plug in the oil filler hole is a GREAT inspection method. Note that a magnetic drainplug is an inspection method, not a cleaning method. The fluid motion is violent - metal trash washes off, and may or may not be caught again.

One idea to use specialty oil well (if you have a big engine generating metal fines in the oil) is to park the van nose-up for 3 weeks, and drain just the dirtiest pint off the bottom of the trans (every few thousand miles). Then top off with clean oil. I spent a bunch of time watching contaminated oil "settle" amidst furious opposition and found that 3 weeks is a good settling period for the heavier contamination in gear oil. Of course the longer the better, but 3 weeks motionless is pretty good.

Cleanliness is next to godliness. I understand this is a dilemma for the owner who doesn't prostate under his/her van. Its like worship, sort of. Many don't and never will, yet they have "over-engined" their antique vehicle. This I FULLY understand, there are few other vehicles on the road with the soul of a VANAGON! But you can't run an antique vehicle like that, not for long, or for cheap.

A big engine will cost you in transaxle money, and if you have a big engine, you'd better pay attention to the condition of your gear oil. Not the cost per quart ------> the cleanliness ! You've made a SIGNIFICANT drivetrain alteration that any reasonable person would assess as "outlandish" and its NOT going to be just plug-n-play. A maintenance and inspection task has been added to your operators manual. You may reply "What operators manual?". The answer to that is "YES; thats the manual I'm talking about".

Sorry for "the book" but I'm procrastinating bigtime this AM, sitting in the welcome sunlight next to the window, and don't wanna get up... Wink Wink
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gears
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 5:21 pm    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

SISTR = Select Independent Syncro Transaxle Rebuilders
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Last edited by gears on Mon Mar 20, 2017 1:07 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 8:50 am    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Sodo wrote:
gears wrote:
The solution may be NOT to rely on Big Name shops, but rather SISTR shops (like Tom Lengyel's Syncroshop). The reward for attention to detail & quality is greatly increased longevity.


I question mentioning Syncroshop like a "business". You can't waltz in there, drop a tranny on the floor, ask what the warranty is and then come back and pick it up. Syncroshop is more like "access to a craftsman" you have to come to an agreement on all issues before he will accept the job.

There are more trannies in need that can be possibly be serviced by specialty shops. Syncroshop does only a few trannies per year, and he won't even accept your tranny job unless you agree that no questionable part goes back into your trans, where it's his assessment of suitability not yours. We need more shops like Syncroshop, but such craft is a dying art. At Syncroshop, if "the customer is always right" the customer can pick up boxes of parts and "be right" somewhere else. In other words you have to trust his judgement 100% from the first bolt out to the last bolt in. Which you can; he has a sixth-sense about Syncro transaxles.

And it's absolutely NOT for selling you parts that you don't need, its per your agreement. If you see his beat-up old Syncro (500,000 miles) its obviously not for the money, its for the longevity, the craft. If the "absolute longest running trans possible" isn't your top goal, Syncroshop doesn't want the job. He will tell you that, straight up, several times if he doesn't think you heard him correctly. If you don't appreciate the quality of work you are getting he doesn't want to work for you. This is totally understandable, because how can you possibly know this when you've never even heard of Syncroshop? And he understands that too, but there are many folks who do know that, waiting in line for his time.

But there's no way the specialty shops can inspect every tranny to such a high level of detail and satisfy the demand. Well-built OLD trannies are racking up the miles; and there's a lot of poorly rebuilt trannies out there too.

Tranny builders are in a bind because everyone is putting in big engines that can destroy the best-built transaxle. The guy who wants to drive his 200HP van like a modern vehicle (either lugging it, or 5,000+RPM or both) selects the best builder, and the guy with the 82HP WBX selects the wham-bam-thankyou-ma'am builder, and they last about the same miles = not many. And they want a warranty. The situation is so bad that the good builders can't offer it due to the big engines, and the poor builders get by because nobody else can offer a genuine warranty either. And it costs $800 to R&R a trans, several hundred more $$ to ship it, so there's a big barrier to exercising a warranty, and another barrier to flushing your shop and choosing a different rebuilder.

Furthermore, how can you know from a forum discussion if the problem was a crap rebuild, a big engine, high RPM usage, lugging damage, an honest failure, gear oil run long after its contaminated, or a people problem? How many forum members disassemble their own trannies and report? And learn the issues, post pics? Very few. This information is very difficult to get.

This is definitely a problem for the Vanagon community and I really feel for you folks who have to spend boatloads of cash on poor rebuilds, and can't find the information you need about where to go. I went through it too. This is because very few Vanagon owners have sampled all the transmission shops, and they shouldn't. You're not supposed to rebuild every 10-20,000 miles it should be every 10-20 years. Kids are born and turn into adults in that timeframe. Old craftsmen pass away in that timeframe.

A vanagon nut, over the years, has an 82HP WBX, the next time 200 HP spinning 5,000 RPM (6,000, 7000?) then next time a big diesel lugging at 2,200 RPM. All the while, the re-usable components are just getting older, and older. Just the engine torques and RPM variations muddy the discussion to the point where you can't really compare anything anyway. And then there's the issue of crap rebuilds.

Its a very complicated discussion with one underlying issue = a transaxle designed 50 years ago for appx 60 HP, that was "stretched" to 90HP, and now being asked to transmit 150HP. Or 200. Or more. If you have a big engine you CANNOT consider a budget rebuild. Be ready to buy shafts, gears, R&P, cases etc.

My best tip is to inspect your oil often, and run the cleanest oil that you can. If you have to run specialty oil - only go down that path if you can afford to keep it clean. You will get less miles if your lubricating fluid has become a grinding paste (if dumping $90 of oil is difficult). But what's clean? It's the same for underwear, depends who's looking but we all know that changed more often than necessary is more likely clean. I think putting a magnetic drain plug in the oil filler hole is a GREAT inspection method. Note that a magnetic drainplug is an inspection method, not a cleaning method. The fluid motion is violent - metal trash washes off, and may or may not be caught again.

One idea to use specialty oil well (if you have a big engine generating metal fines in the oil) is to park the van nose-up for 3 weeks, and drain just the dirtiest pint off the bottom of the trans (every few thousand miles). Then top off with clean oil. I spent a bunch of time watching contaminated oil "settle" amidst furious opposition and found that 3 weeks is a good settling period for the heavier contamination in gear oil. Of course the longer the better, but 3 weeks motionless is pretty good.

Cleanliness is next to godliness. I understand this is a dilemma for the owner who doesn't prostate under his/her van. Its like worship, sort of. Many don't and never will, yet they have "over-engined" their antique vehicle. This I FULLY understand, there are few other vehicles on the road with the soul of a VANAGON! But you can't run an antique vehicle like that, not for long, or for cheap.

A big engine will cost you in transaxle money, and if you have a big engine, you'd better pay attention to the condition of your gear oil. Not the cost per quart ------> the cleanliness ! You've made a SIGNIFICANT drivetrain alteration that any reasonable person would assess as "outlandish" and its NOT going to be just plug-n-play. A maintenance and inspection task has been added to your operators manual. You may reply "What operators manual?". The answer to that is "YES; thats the manual I'm talking about".

Sorry for "the book" but I'm procrastinating bigtime this AM, sitting in the welcome sunlight next to the window, and don't wanna get up... Wink Wink


What a great post, Tom! This should be in the 'Sticky' section to help people understand the transaxle issue as a whole.

And you've reminded me that's its time to re-fill my box! Very Happy
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Sean@Weddle
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 9:06 am    Post subject: Re: Failing Syncro Rebuilt Transaxle Reply with quote

Sodo wrote:


Its a very complicated discussion with one underlying issue = a transaxle designed 50 years ago for appx 60 HP, that was "stretched" to 90HP, and now being asked to transmit 150HP. Or 200. Or more. If you have a big engine you CANNOT consider a budget rebuild. Be ready to buy shafts, gears, R&P, cases etc.



This entire discussion can be concluded by this paragraph.
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